Ice-weighing device



June 2, 1925.

W. E. SWINSCOE ET AL ICE WEIGHING DEVICE Filed April 17. 1922 2 5heets5heet 1 1451 Fu -fl 37 I gwuenhsu W. E.Jwinac.oe G. LCcaUinS June 2,

ICE WEIGHING mavIE Patented June 2, 1925.

UNITED? ATES PATENT orncs;

' WALTER E. SWINSCOE AND GEORGE L. COLLINS, 0F WACO, TEXAS.

ICE-WEIGHING DEVICE.

' Application filed April 11,1922. Serial No. 553,996."

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WALTER E. .SWINS- con and GEoRonL. COLLINS, citizens of the United States, residing at Waco, in the county of McLennan and State of Texas, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Ice-Weighing Devices, of

which the followin is a, specification, This inventionre ates to new and useful improvements in ice weighing devices and particularly that type which is installed within a refrigerator. i a

'The object of the invention is to provide means in connec'tion with the ice supporting shelf or tray of .a refrigerator for weighing the ice when the same is placed in the refrigerator. I A further object is to provide an exterior indicator which will register the weight of the ice at all time sand the exact wei ght of the icein the refrigerator may be ascertained without opening the same.

A construction designed to carry out the invention together withv other features of the invention will be hereinafter described.

The invention will be more readily understood froma reading of the following speci- .fication and by referenceto the accompany,

ing drawings, inwhich an example of-the invention is shown and wherein Fig. 1 is a partial front, elevation of a refrigerator equipped with a" device constructed in acordance with our invention, a portion being indicated in dotted lines,

Fig. 2 is an elevation of themechanism removed from the refrigerator,

Fig.3 is a pers ective view of a portion of the weighing evic e, p

I ig. 4 isa perspective view of the ice tray, 7

Fig. 5 is a detail of the indicator,

Fig. 6 is a detail of one of the trunnion supports,the parts being slightly separated,

and i v Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail of the connection between balancing beams.

In the drawings .the numeral 10a rectangular metal supporting frame which may be suitably mounted in, the ice chamber of a refrigerator or ice box. Any suitablesupporting means may be used in place of the frame, On each side near each end the frame has fulcrumed therein, four hooki members 11 having eyes 12 depending below the frame. The members are mounted to swing freely and receive 'in their eyes,- the ends of transverse rock shafts 13, which latter have knife edges 14 engaging'in said eyes. The shafts have within. the frame, laterally projecting loops 15, those of one shaft being directed toward those of the other shaft. The ends of. these loops have upwardly directed knife edges 16 "as is best shown in detail in Fig. 6. i

I A rectangular icetray 17 of suitable construction is disposed within the frame 10 with sufficient spacetherebetween' to permit freedom of'movementof the tray. The tray forward end of the beam 19 which extends under and beyond the front end of the 7 frame. A coiled spring 24 is providedwith a tensioning screw 25 which extends, up thru the bracket and receives an adjusting nut 26. The spring has a depending hook 27 in which the forward end of the beam 19 rests. It will be seen that the beamsare swung downwardly by the loops 15 against the tensionof the spring, The

spring counter-acts the weight placed upon the tray 17 and swings the beams upwardly when the weight is reduced. I

The knife edges 14,16 and .20 make for a very sensitive poise'and the spring may be adjusted to a nicety, whereby the device will weigh accurately. On the forward end of the beam 19 I provide a laterally directed arm 28 which supports the-end of a,

crank arm 29 provided on one end of a shaft 30. A weight 31 or other means is mounted on the crank arm to hold the same down upon the arm 28. The shaft 80 is placed transversely of the frame 10 and parallel of the front wall of the refrigerator, but within the same. Short'stancards 32 support the shaft and collars 32 fastened on the said shaft prevent longitudinal displacement of the same.

A counter shaft 33 is mounted in brackets 84f vertically in the refrigerator and is supported by a collar 35 fastened thereon and engaging the lower bracket. A bevel gear 36 on the lower end of the shaft meshes with a bevel gear 37 on the adjacent end of the shaft 30. A bevel gear 38 on the upper end of the vertical shaft meshes with a bevel gear 39' mounted on a jack shaft 40 supported in a box e1 mounted in the wall of the refrigerator. A gear 42 fastened on the shaft 40 within thebox meshes with a pinion 43 fastened on an indicator shaftl i. A hand 45 mounted on theouter end of the shaft 44 is disposed in front of a dial 46 mounted on the outside of the refrigerator wall.

Normally the hand 45 occupies an upright position and registers with zero as is shown in Fig. 1. \Vhen a block of ice or the like is placed upon the tray 17 the loops 15 are swung downwardly, whereby the balance beams 19 and 21 are swung downwardly thru the rocking of the shafts 13, the finger 22 contributing the downward pressure of the beam 21 to the beam 19 thru the agency of the knife edge 20. The beam 19 thus sustains the entire load which is exerted against the tcnsionof the spring 24.

lVhen the beam 21- is depressed the arm 28 is lowered, whereby the weight 31 is permitted to swing the cranl' arm 25), which remains constantly in contact with the arm The shaft 30 is rocked by the'crank arm in a clockwise direction and thru the means of the gears 36 and 37 rotates the vertical shaft 33 which rotates the shaft 40 in a clockwise direction. The gear 42 thru the. pinion rotates the shaft 44in a.

counter-clockwise direct-ion, whereby hand is likewise swung.

The weight indicating numerals on the dial 4'6 are placed in a counter-clockwise order and the parts of device are proportioned and related so that the, hand 45 will be swung the proper distance to register with the numeral indicating the weight of the block of ice which has depressed the tray 17. lVhen the weight upon the tray is reduced the beams 19 and 21 will be swung upwardly and if the weight 31 was not employed the crank arm, which is raised by the arm 28, would remain elevated and the indicator would not be operated. when the tion within a .refrigerator,-a pair of fulcrnmed rocking members, an ice supporting tray mounted upon said members for rocking the same when loaded, a pair of balance beams in engagement and attached to said rocking members to be swung thereby, a counter-balance connected with one of the beams anarm extending from the counter-balanced beam, a crank shaft connected with said arm, and an indicator connected with and operated by the crank shaft.

' 2. In an ice weighing device for installation within a refrigerator, pivoted support ing hooks, transverse rock shafts pivoted in the hooks, loops directed toward eachother fromjthe rock-shafts, an ice tray having depending trunnions supported in the loops, balancing beams connected with the rock shafts and engaged witheach other,.a coiled spring under tension and supporting one of the beams, and' a n indicator having 0perative connection with one of the beams.

In an ice weighing device for installa tion within a refrigerator,pivoted supporting hooks, transverse rock: shafts pivoted in 'tll llO'OkS, loops directed toward each other from the rock shafts, 'an ice tray having depending trnnnions engaging in "the loops, a balancing beam extending from one of the shafts and having a depression provided with a knife edge,.a second balancing beam extending from the. other rock shaft and provided with a linger resting upon the knife edge of the first beam, a

coiled spring under tension support-ing the outer end of the first beam, indicator operating means connected with the first beam,

and. an indicator connected with the said means. i

4. In an ice weighing device for installation within a refrigerator, a pair of bal ancing beam members, an ice tray supported on said'members, a coiled spring snpporting one of said beamhiembers, an. arm extending laterally from said last named beam member, a crank shaft, a crank arm carried by the shaft and restingupon the arm,means for holding the crank arm constantly in engagement with the arm, and an indicator operated by the crank shaft.

5. In an ice weighing device for installation within a refrigerator, a pair of pivoted. rock shafts, a supporting frame, hooks ivoted in the frame and having depend ing eyes, knife edges on the shaft engaging in the eyes of the hooks, loops extendiug laterally from the shafts and having cator operating means connected with said knife edges, an ice tray having depending arm, and an indicator connected with said trunnions mounted on the knife edges of the means.

loops, a pair of parallel balancing beams Signed and witnessed at Waco, Texas, 15 extending oppositely from the shafts, one of this 13th day of April, A. D. 1922.

said beams having a knife edge and the other having a lateral finger resting upon the knife WALRIER E fiE edge, a coiled spring mounted on the frame GEO GE 00 J and supporting the beams having the knife lVitnesses:

edge, means tensioning said spring, an arm J. L. MOATEE,

projecting from said last named beam, indi- U. P. HAROOURT. 

